WADA confirms leaked athletics database does not originate from its system

August 05, 2015, 19:58 UTC+3GENEVAGerman ARD aired a documentary, which alleged that they had obtained a leaked database belonging to the IAAF, which contained over 12,000 blood tests from around 5,000 athletes in the years 2001-2012

GENEVA, August 5. /TASS/. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday that the leaked international athletics database does not originate from its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS).

"WADA condemns the leak of athlete’s confidential information and wants to assure athletes of the world that they can have full confidence in ADAMS in protecting their personal data," WADA Director General David Howman said.

The German television channel ARD aired a documentary on August 1, which alleged that ARD and The Sunday Times had obtained a leaked database belonging to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which contained more than 12,000 blood tests from around 5,000 athletes in the years 2001 to 2012.

ARD further alleged that a third of medals (146, including 55 golds) in endurance events at the Olympics and World Championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by athletes who have recorded suspicious tests but none of these athletes have been stripped of their medals.

ADAMS is an online data management tool that allows athlete data entry and storage, as well as data-sharing and reporting to take place in a highly secure environment that restricts access to all but relevant parties, WADA said in a statement on its website.

"It protects confidentiality of data due to a security system that complies with the highest data protection standards. Only restricted personnel within Anti-Doping Organizations have access to their respective data."

The International Association of Athletics Federations rejected on Tuesday the doping allegations made in the German television channel ARD’s documentary.

The IAAF said in a statement the data called secret in the documentary had been analyzed and published by the organization more than four years ago.

"The IAAF takes the allegations published by The Sunday Times and ARD very seriously and has investigated them thoroughly," the statement said.

"The published allegations were sensationalist and confusing: the results referred to were not positive tests. In fact, ARD and The Sunday Times both admit that their evaluation of the data did not prove doping."

The data on which the reports were based was not ‘secret’ as the IAAF published a detailed analysis of this data more than four years ago.

"The IAAF wants to stamp out all doping in sport and welcomes greater public debate. There is no perfect system for catching drug cheats, but the IAAF has been at the forefront of drug testing for many years. Under its pioneering Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system, more athletes have been banned for cheating by the IAAF than all other sports federations and national anti-doping agencies put together," the statement said.